Now the subject of a film by Richard Linklater, Eric Schlosser's explosive bestseller Fast Food Nation: What the All-American Meal is Doing to the World tells the story of our love affair with fast food. Britain eats more fast food than any other country in Europe. It looks good, tastes good, and it's cheap. But the real cost never appears on the menu. Eric Schlosser visits the lab that re-creates the smell of strawberries; examines the safety records of abattoirs; reveals why the fries really taste so good and what lurks between the sesame buns - and shows how fast food is transforming not only our diets but our world. "Fast Food Nation has lifted the polystyrene lid on the global fast food industry ...and sparked a storm". (Observer). "Has wiped that smirk off the Happy Meal...Thanks to this man, you'll never eat a burger again". (Evening Standard). "Startling...Junk food, we learn, is just that ...left this reader vowing never to set foot in one of those outlets again". (Daily Mail). "This book tells you more than you really want to know when you're chomping on that hamburger...Have a nice day? Listen - you should live so long". (The Times). Eric Schlosser is a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly. His first book, Fast Food Nation, was a major international bestseller. His work has appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Rolling Stone and the Guardian. He has received a number of journalistic honours, including a National Magazine Award for an Atlantic Review article on the drug trade, which was later adapted into the book Reefer Madness.

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Review:

On any given day, one out of four Americans opts for a quick and cheap meal at a fast-food restaurant, without giving either its speed or its thriftiness a second thought. Fast food is so ubiquitous that it now seems as American, and harmless, as apple pie. But the industry's drive for consolidation, homogenization, and speed has radically transformed America's diet, landscape, economy, and workforce, often in insidiously destructive ways. Eric Schlosser, an award-winning journalist, opens his ambitious and ultimately devastating exposé with an introduction to the iconoclasts and high school dropouts, such as Harlan Sanders and the McDonald brothers, who first applied the principles of a factory assembly line to a commercial kitchen. Quickly, however, he moves behind the counter with the overworked and underpaid teenage workers, onto the factory farms where the potatoes and beef are grown, and into the slaughterhouses run by giant meatpacking corporations. Schlosser wants you to know why those French fries taste so good (with a visit to the world's largest flavor company) and "what really lurks between those sesame-seed buns." Eater beware: forget your concerns about cholesterol, there is--literally--feces in your meat.

Schlosser's investigation reaches its frightening peak in the meatpacking plants as he reveals the almost complete lack of federal oversight of a seemingly lawless industry. His searing portrayal of the industry is disturbingly similar to Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, written in 1906: nightmare working conditions, union busting, and unsanitary practices that introduce E. coli and other pathogens into restaurants, public schools, and homes. Almost as disturbing is his description of how the industry "both feeds and feeds off the young," insinuating itself into all aspects of children's lives, even the pages of their school books, while leaving them prone to obesity and disease. Fortunately, Schlosser offers some eminently practical remedies. "Eating in the United States should no longer be a form of high-risk behavior," he writes. Where to begin? Ask yourself, is the true cost of having it "your way" really worth it? --Lesley Reed

From the Inside Flap:

Six Cassettes, 9 hrs.

Read by Rick Adamson

FAST FOOD NATION - the groundbreaking work of investigation and cultural history that has changed the way America thinks about the way it eats - and spent nearly four months on the New York Times bestseller list - now available on cassette!

Are we what we eat? To a degree both engrossing and alarming, the story of fast food is the story of postwar America. Though created by a handful of mavericks, the fast food industry has triggered the homogenization of our society. Fast food has hastened the malling of our landscape, widened the chasm between rich and poor, fueled an epidemic of obesity, and propelling the juggernaut of American cultural imperialism abroad. That's a lengthy list of charges, but Eric Schlosser makes them stick with an artful mix of first-rate reportage, wry wit, and careful reasoning.

Schlosser's myth-shattering survey stretches from the California subdivisions where the business was born to the industrial corridor along the New Jersey Turnpike where many of fast food's flavors are concocted. Along the way, he unearths a trove of fascinating, unsettling truths - from the unholy alliance between fast food and Hollywood to the seismic changes the industry has wrought in food production, popular culture, even real estate. He also uncovers the fast food chains' efforts to reel in the youngest, most susceptible consumers even while they hone their institutionalized exploitation of teenagers and minorities. Schlosser then turns a critical eye toward the hot topic of globalization - a phenomenon launched by fast food.

Book Description Penguin Books Ltd, United Kingdom, 2002. Paperback. Book Condition: New. 200 x 128 mm. Language: English Brand New Book. Now the subject of a film by Richard Linklater, Eric Schlosser s explosive bestseller Fast Food Nation: What the All-American Meal is Doing to the World tells the story of our love affair with fast food. Britain eats more fast food than any other country in Europe. It looks good, tastes good, and it s cheap. But the real cost never appears on the menu. Eric Schlosser visits the lab that re-creates the smell of strawberries; examines the safety records of abattoirs; reveals why the fries really taste so good and what lurks between the sesame buns - and shows how fast food is transforming not only our diets but our world. Fast Food Nation has lifted the polystyrene lid on the global fast food industry .and sparked a storm . (Observer). Has wiped that smirk off the Happy Meal.Thanks to this man, you ll never eat a burger again . (Evening Standard). Startling.Junk food, we learn, is just that .left this reader vowing never to set foot in one of those outlets again . (Daily Mail). This book tells you more than you really want to know when you re chomping on that hamburger.Have a nice day? Listen - you should live so long . (The Times). Eric Schlosser is a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly. His first book, Fast Food Nation, was a major international bestseller. His work has appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Rolling Stone and the Guardian. He has received a number of journalistic honours, including a National Magazine Award for an Atlantic Review article on the drug trade, which was later adapted into the book Reefer Madness. Bookseller Inventory # APG9780141006871

Book Description Penguin Books Ltd, United Kingdom, 2002. Paperback. Book Condition: New. 200 x 128 mm. Language: English Brand New Book. Now the subject of a film by Richard Linklater, Eric Schlosser s explosive bestseller Fast Food Nation: What the All-American Meal is Doing to the World tells the story of our love affair with fast food. Britain eats more fast food than any other country in Europe. It looks good, tastes good, and it s cheap. But the real cost never appears on the menu. Eric Schlosser visits the lab that re-creates the smell of strawberries; examines the safety records of abattoirs; reveals why the fries really taste so good and what lurks between the sesame buns - and shows how fast food is transforming not only our diets but our world. Fast Food Nation has lifted the polystyrene lid on the global fast food industry .and sparked a storm . (Observer). Has wiped that smirk off the Happy Meal.Thanks to this man, you ll never eat a burger again . (Evening Standard). Startling.Junk food, we learn, is just that .left this reader vowing never to set foot in one of those outlets again . (Daily Mail). This book tells you more than you really want to know when you re chomping on that hamburger.Have a nice day? Listen - you should live so long . (The Times). Eric Schlosser is a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly. His first book, Fast Food Nation, was a major international bestseller. His work has appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Rolling Stone and the Guardian. He has received a number of journalistic honours, including a National Magazine Award for an Atlantic Review article on the drug trade, which was later adapted into the book Reefer Madness. Bookseller Inventory # APG9780141006871

Book Description 2002. Paperback. Book Condition: New. 1st. 129mm x 198mm x 17mm. Paperback. The story of fast food is to a large extent the story of post-war America. In a perverse way, it is also the story of Britain since the deregulation of our food and labour markets in the e.Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. 400 pages. 0.275. Bookseller Inventory # 9780141006871

Book Description Penguin, 2002. Paperback. Book Condition: New. Brand New Book. Shipping: Once your order has been confirmed and payment received, your order will then be processed. The book will be located by our staff, packaged and despatched to you as quickly as possible. From time to time, items get mislaid en route. If your item fails to arrive, please contact us first. We will endeavour to trace the item for you and where necessary, replace or refund the item. Please do not leave negative feedback without contacting us first. All orders will be dispatched within two working days. If you have any quesions please contact us. Bookseller Inventory # V9780141006871